CITY OF SAN ANGELO
The Animal Services Advisory Committee heard a brief update of 2025 during their last regular meeting of the year on Thursday.
Earlier this year, City Council voted to not renew their service contract with Concho Valley PAWS, ending an agreement that went back several years between the two agencies to share shelter and staff.
Animal services are now completely under city management, with a new director to guide the shelter into next year.
Animal Services Director Amanda Weddle, joined by City Construction Manager Al Torres, briefed the board on the proposed replacement for the current animal shelter, which they refer to as “pods.” You can read more details about the proposal here.
The board discussed the benefits of the new system.
By separating the dog population into different sections which don’t face each other, they are trying to solve several problems, explained Weddle, among them the spread of disease, and overstimulation of the dogs.
The last issue is a major problem during the adoption process.
Weddle said updated best practices in shelter design support transitioning to smaller, self-contained kennel pods with direct outdoor access rather than renovating the existing large kennel building.
Under the proposed model, each pod would house 20 to 25 kennels, with guillotine doors opening to individual outdoor runs.
The current animal shelter was built in 1999, and faces severe utility problems according to reports from staff. The new design tackles many of the biggest problems with the existing shelter, namely stronger plumbing and drainage.
They told the committee another benefit of splitting the shelter over four separate areas is that if one pod experiences HVAC or plumbing issues, it won’t affect the others.
Weddle also said that the planning staff were able to preview this new type of facility in Abilene, where the design is already in use. She said shelter staff there were overall very pleased with the results, but were able to advise the San Angelo team on what to avoid during design and construction.
Afterward, Morgan Chegwidden, who served as interim director, illuminated one reason why building a new animal shelter is a little more challenging than other buildings: “the plumber said that our waste was very corrosive…”
This meeting was Chegwidden’s last day in her role, and the board thanked her at the end of the meeting, with SMD 4 Representative Rodger Horton saying, “I think I can speak for everyone here, that during your tenure you have handled a particularly taxing and thankless job with a tremendous amount of grace.”
November Shelter Numbers
- 172 new arrivals
- 39 adoptions
- 11 adopted and pending surgery
- 39 transferred
- 21 redeemed by owner
- 4 wildlife releases
- 77 deceased
- 288 in custody
- 54.19 percent released alive
Deceased:
- 19 were aggressive
- 29 were sick or injured
- 3 for bite investigations
- 26 for capacity
Field Service Cases
The Animal Shelter reported 380 field service cases, for an average of 12.6 calls per day.
- 142 stray responses
- 132 enforcement and rechecks
- 70 wildlife calls
- 20 bite investigations
- 5 transports
- 11 owner released/seized intake
